Part Five: How to Set Simple and Impactful Goals

Welcome back to Day Five of PowerSheets Prep Week! While it might be Friday, the fun is just getting started! We intentionally started our 2019 PowerSheets Prep Work early so you would have everything you need whenever you’re ready to get started. Regardless of where you are in the PowerSheets process, you are in the right spot! Your January self will thank you for starting early and letting your goals slow cook.

If you feel hesitant to set goals, remember this: you were created to grow and change. We are always “in progress.” Your goals may be the same! As you grow, your goals may shift. As you go through different seasons, your priorities may change. As you learn new lessons and take on new life responsibilities, your capacity to do different things may change. So, as you write out your 2019 goals, remember that you don’t have to set them for the calendar year. You don't have to do everything at once. Little by little by little progress, friends!

Set goals just for this season ahead, and refresh your goals every few months -- this is why we put a Goal Refresh in the PowerSheets for every season. We were created for seasons! Here are four simple steps to setting goals that you can't wait to make progress on:

Look for threads. Flip back through your Prep Work pages and look for common threads or themes in what you've written. Don't think too much about this step; just circle, highlight, or sticker and mark these themes. Threads are your goals in the making. They point to places craving cultivation in your life.

Turn threads into goal ideas. When I flipped back through my Prep Work last year before setting my goals, a common thread I started to see was my relationship with my cell phone (specifically social media). That thread led to one of my most impactful goals last year—"Phone down, Eyes up." I never would have found that goal had I not done this step! Take the time to get messy and put some goal ideas down. How you spend your time is how you spend your life. Check each of your goal ideas to see if it's worth spending your time on by asking two simple questions:

Why do I want to spend my time on this?

Will this get me closer to where I want to be when I'm 80?

Simplify. You might have a lot of goals on your list and already be wondering how you will tackle them. This step is for you! Take each of your goal ideas and turn them into goal buckets that are broader. For example, last year I knew I wanted to prioritize my health, so instead of setting multiple goals to run a 10K and have a month of no-added-sugar, my 2018 goal was "Take care of my body." This broader goal gave me space to break it down into smaller S.M.A.R.T. goals in my Action Plan Worksheets and Monthly Tending Lists.

Fill out your Action Plan Worksheets for each of your Big Picture Goals. Don't worry about perfect handwriting or wording. Most important on these pages? Write down your WHY with every goal. Writing your WHY will help you connect each goal to something that deeply matters to you. It will help you act on your goals instead of tossing them aside when February 1st arrives.

Whether you came up with two goals or ten, we hope you feel more focused on what matters most having walked through the Prep Work alongside us! We have a bonus video in our five-part video series coming this Thursday -- it's going to be one you bookmark and rewatch every single month! 😉

Join Lara for a live workshop on Thursday, December 13th at 1 pm ET. She's going to walk you step-by-step through how to plan your year (doing the most important things well!) using PowerSheets and our brand new Celebrations Binder. If you can't join live, go ahead and sign up at the same link. We'll send you a link to the replay as soon as it's over!

Your turn! Leave a comment below, and share some of your 2019 goals! If you haven't finalized them, share some of your ideas! I’ll choose one lucky commenter tomorrow to win a $25 gift card to the Cultivate Shop!

Don’t have your 2019 PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner yet? Now is the perfect time to dig in! Order yours today, and we’ll get it in your hands in a jiffy. While you wait for your order to arrive, you can follow along with a notebook, or you can come back to the Cultivate blog (where everything will live) and get started when you have PowerSheets in hand! Not sure if PowerSheets are right for you? Send us a note, and we'll be happy to help!